Sep. 10, 2013 - 01:23PM
|

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hinted of a possible Turkish combat role in any Syria operation. (AFP)

ANKARA — As the United States and its allies are pondering a military operation against Syria, the Turkish military is giving pace to efforts in case it should take part in a multinational intervention.

The Turkish armed forces have begun to establish a new base on the top of Kel Mountain, adjacent to the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, officials said.

Military equipment, which was carried by trucks for two days from the Yayladagi district of the southern Hatay province, is being assembled on the top of the mountain. The base is close to where a Turkish plane was shot down by Syrian armed forces in 2012.

The Army has beefed up its military presence along its southern border with Syria in recent days, in anticipation of strikes on the regime in Damascus.

Coast Guard boats have been dispatched to the coast of Samandag, a town from where bombs were previously transferred to Reyhanli, where 53 people were killed in a bombing in May.

Trucks, carrying armored vehicles and tanks, have also been dispatched to the southeastern city of Sanliurfa’s Mursitpinar border post.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday hinted of a possible Turkish combat role in the planned military operation.

Replying to a question here on Turkey’s role in possible intervention in Syria, he said: “We would strive for the ideal contribution that Turkey can make in a process aiming [toward] peace. But the nature of that support, i.e combatant force or logistical support, depends on circumstances. If we put conditions and say ‘it would be like this and that’ then we will open the door to more killing of Syrian people.”